It appears that the family thought you go to a pound, pick out a dog, bring it home and it’s a “Lassie”; dogs need time to adjust just like people or children who are uprooted from their home.  Throughout all of this chaos Duke won the hearts of the staff at the pound.  They hated to see him die, but that was where he was heading.  When we got the call a volunteer immediately went to visit him and was impressed with his beauty and demeanor.  

Duke was definitely scared and confused but within minutes he grabbed a ball and wanted to play.  He hated to go back into the cage after our visit, but we promised we would be back.  We made arrangements with the pound to get him into a foster home.

Duke is a great guy who needs a place to unwind from the turmoil he has had to experience.  He loves to play with his squeaky toys, knows his name, and understands basic commands.  He will need a family where someone is home a majority of the time to help him regain faith and security.  He is fine around other large dogs and warms up to people quickly.

 Duke, like many other dogs, did not deserve to be killed.  Please make sure when you take on the responsibility of caring for an animal you do your homework. There are a lot of animals that are not as lucky as Duke, and/or as lucky as the new family who adopts this great guy.